• Published 10th Jun 2013
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Butterflies - Ghosttown Brony



A peaceful day watching the Butterfly Migration, quickly turns disastrous for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, but through a terrible event, they come to find something new, something... magical.

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Solace

Fluttershy

Chapter 17


Lightning crashed and thunder roared outside the windows of Rainbow Dash’s cloud home. Fluttershy jumped and pulled the covers a little tighter against her body. Storms in Cloudsdale weren’t the same as on the ground, most of the time they were tests by the weather ponies, there wasn’t even any rain. But the sudden bright flashes and loud booming had scared the yellow filly ever since she could remember. She moved a little closer to her sleeping friend. She’d never slept over at Rainbow’s during a storm before, and although her fears were not completely alleviated, having her best friend beside her definitely had a calming effect. Normally her own house was empty at night, with her mother being gone at work, leaving the fearful filly alone. Usually it wasn’t so bad, she’d gotten used to it after a while. Until a storm rolled in. The two lay in a soft bed of cloud, kept warm with a large Wonderbolt comforter. Rainbow had a very nice room; it was big and full of lovely furniture, almost all of which were adorned with some form of Wonderbolt merchandise. Except on the dresser that lay beside Rainbow’s bed, which instead held only the picture Fluttershy had drawn her a few weeks ago.

Another loud boom. The yellow filly tried to make herself smaller. She looked to her friend. She was curled up on the other side of the bed, with her back facing her. She hadn’t snored in a while.

“Hey Rainbow, are you awake?” she asked in her soft timid tone.

“Yep.” She replied sleepily, obviously startled from her rest.

“Oh, I’m sorry; I didn’t want to wake you. You can just go back to sleep.”

“No, no, what’s up? Is everything okay, do you need anything?” she asked, sounding a bit more awake. She turned to face her, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She rolled over to her other side, to face the yellow pegasus.

“Oh it’s nothing,” she said, honestly not knowing what possessed her to wake the sleeping filly in the first place. “Really, just go back-” Another clap of thunder rocked the house, Fluttershy jumped and screamed. She pulled the covers over her head and shivered.

“Hey,” she felt Rainbow’s hoof on her back from the other side of the blanket. “It’s just a storm, we’re fine inside.”
Fluttershy remained hidden.

“What are you scared of? It’s just a bit of thunder; I sleep through storms like this all the time!”

“It’s scary.” Came Fluttershy’s muffled reply. She didn’t fully understand her fear herself. She felt the blanket being softly lifted from her head, then placed back down just below her chin. It was hard to see in the dark, but she thought she could see a gentle smile from Rainbow. Fluttershy could feel the blue pegasus moving, and her breath came up suddenly short when she felt a body pressed against her own. Her cheeks warmed. Rainbow was snuggled up with her.

“There, now you don’t have to worry. I’m here.” She said quietly. She had one foreleg resting over Fluttershy’s body. Once she got over her initial shock, Fluttershy found herself becoming quite comfortable. Her body was so nice and warm. She began to feel and odd tight feeling in her chest at being so close to another filly. The next time the thunder boomed, she didn’t even flinch. She shifted herself a little, getting comfortable. She let her head rest against her friend’s.

“Thanks Rainbow.”

“No problem. Good night Fluttershy.”

“Good night Rainbow Dash.”

Dreams were always a complicated thing for Fluttershy. Most of the time she couldn’t remember them, only bit and pieces of incoherent noises and nonsensical images. But this time she remembered, clear as crystal. It helped me sleep, to look over and see you there.


“Fluttershy?”

Her eyes opened. She was lying down on her back, and Twilight was hovering over her. When she saw her eyes open, the purple pony began to cry.

“Oh thank Celestia!” she lay her head down on her chest. Fluttershy just lay there, trying to remember. She was in pain, Cadence had hurt her, Twilight tried to revive Rainbow. Bits and pieces floated into her still aching head. Her throat was dry, but she managed to croak out.

“What happened?” She tried to sit up, but was met with a wave of dizziness.

“Please, don’t move to fast!” Twilight said worriedly. “Fluttershy, I am so sorry. The spell I performed on you was far more powerful than I had anticipated. For a moment I thought I was going to lose you. You passed out when I completed it, but I can’t imagine how hard that must’ve been on you.”

“What about Rainbow?” she said, beginning to clear her head. “Does she need my blood?”

Twilight shook her head.

“No, I had to move fast, so I was forced to take blood from you while you were unconscious. It was risky, but I figured it was what you would’ve wanted.”
Fluttershy nodded.

“She needed the transfusion... does that mean...?”

“She’s alive.” Twilight smiled. Fluttershy felt her chest tighten and the tears beginning to form.

“And is she... Does she remember?”

Twilight looked down.

“I don’t know yet, she hasn’t woken up. But she is breathing unassisted and her heart rate is normal.”

The yellow pegasus broke into a massive smile. She turned her head around looking for her returned lover, but after a few moments she realized she was in a completely different room. Well, it looked nearly identical in decoration, but the bed she lay upon was empty.

“Where is she?”

“Right next door. I understand that you want to see her as soon as possible, and I will let you, but there are a few things I need you to know.”

Fluttershy couldn’t help being annoyed, but she nodded, too weak to fight her friend.

Twilight took a deep breath.

“Fluttershy, I assume Cadence explained to you her reasons for withholding assistance. And while I don’t agree with them they were valid reasons, but I was too grieved to see it. We can’t keep this a secret from Celestia and Luna; in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they already knew. I can’t escape punishment, although I assume they will be rather lenient considering the details of this situation. But nopony else can ever know, not even our friends. I have no idea how they would react. Can I rely on you to keep these events a secret?” she asked.

“Yes of course.” Fluttershy never had any intention of ever divulging this information. “I promise. Can I go see her now?”

“Just one more thing. I’m not really sure how to say this, so I’m just going to say it. Fluttershy, what we-what I did back there... it wasn’t right. I have no regrets about my actions, but at the same time I know I upset a balance that shouldn’t be tampered with. Ponies that have taken their final rest should be left at peace. I’m never performing that spell again, not for anypony, I can’t. Not even for the ponies I care for most. I hope you can understand.”

She nodded. Fluttershy understood completely, but her words worried her a little. Not because she feared her friends wouldn’t be saved in the future, but because she sounded very regretful. What would she think of Rainbow now, whose being on this world was now due to the result of their combined efforts? Would she think her an abomination, a pony who by all definitions shouldn’t be alive? But she didn’t and couldn’t dwell on these questions, because Twilight smiled, and helped her to her hooves. She got her wing over her purple back.

“You probably aren’t feeling the best, so just let me carry you.”

Fluttershy let her weight rest on her friend, sorry that she had to put such a burden on her, but she had little choice. She could hardly move herself at all, every part of her body felt as though it were weighted. Twilight said that she’d taken a part away from her, like a piece of her soul. She didn’t feel much different, although she was even more exhausted than she was the previous day. But sleep was the furthest thing from her mind. Rainbow Dash was alive! The love of her life might not be gone, and she was going to go see her.

“I would just teleport you there, but that spell took a lot out of me, so it’s probably best that I don’t do anything too complicated.”

“Teleport me?” Fluttershy asked. “What about you?”

“I figured you would probably want to spend some time alone with her. You know, be the first one there when she wakes up.”

Fluttershy wanted to argue politely tell her that it was fine; she could come in if she wanted. But she really did want to be alone with Rainbow again, so instead of arguing, she simply whispered.

“Thank you, so much Twilight, for everything.”

“You’re welcome.”

As they stepped out into the hallway, Fluttershy braced herself for the sight of Cadence, but the hall was empty. She didn’t mind. The walk seemed to stretch on forever, Fluttershy wanted to badly to sprint in to the room, to be back by Rainbows side. She noticed a bandage wrapped neatly on her foreleg, and when she looked up there was a real cast on her wing.

“Twilight, did you-”

“Yeah, you were out for a while and I thought it would be best to try and patch you up.” She answered as they reached the door. “Do you want me to carry you in or do you feel well enough to walk?”
Fluttershy glanced down to her unsteady hooves.

“I think I can manage.”

“Alright,” she said softly. “I’ll be right outside if you need anything.” A purple aura surrounded the door knob, and with a click, it opened quietly. Fluttershy took her weight upon her own hooves. She let her wing slide from Twilight’s back. She lifted her uninjured foreleg and placed in front of her. The room seemed to spin; she kept shifting her weight to compensate. She took a step. Never had she thought of walking as being such a task, but she pressed on, refusing to ask for assistance. Be strong for me Fluttershy. Another step.

“Hey Fluttershy,” The yellow mare turned to her friend. Twilight held her gaze. Fluttershy knew there was nothing she could ever do to repay this pony for everything she’d done. “All that you two did, surviving just the two of you out there, it really is incredible. If you need anything, I’ll be right outside. And I know... everything will turn out in the end.” Fluttershy just nodded, touched by her words. She turned wordlessly. The door clicked shut behind her. Another step. She turned the corner to see the bed, and lying upon it was Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy stopped, her heart was beating fast. She stared at the sleeping mare, as she’d done before only nights ago. She stood only six feet from the bed, but she could see the gentle and steady rise and fall of her blue chest. She let out a soft snore and Fluttershy could no longer hold back her tears. Rainbow Dash was alive. The pony she loved had returned to her.

She took another step. But what if she hadn’t? What if Twilight was wrong, and the spell, didn’t work? What if it wasn’t Rainbow? Fluttershy took another step. As long as she was sleeping, she was still Dashie.
With a few more steps, she made it to the bedside. Her legs were shaking violently, but she still summoned enough energy to crawl into the bed. She moved herself close to the multicoloured mare. There were no blankets, but she didn’t mind. Rainbow Dash was there to keep her warm. She looked up at her with wet eyes. Her mouth was open a little, and her mane was a mess, but she always woke up like that.

“Hi Rainbow.” She whispered softly, wanting to talk to her, to let her know she was there. As long as she was asleep, she was Rainbow Dash. So, just in case, she better talk to her now. “I hope you’re feeling better than me.”
She laid a foreleg over her cyan chest, and nuzzled her neck. Even through the smell of days of grit and hardship, she could still single out Rainbow’s scent.

“Do you remember Dashie? Do you remember me?” Soft breathing was her only response. “Do you remember when we were fillies, and we would sleep in the same bed, and sometimes you would hold me? It’s been so long, I’d almost forgotten. But on the nights when we were together I never felt cold, or afraid, or alone. It was always like that when I was with you, but especially on those nights. And I’m glad that I still don’t need to be afraid.” She stopped for a while to listen to the sound of her breathing, so soft and beautiful. She hoped she would never hear it fade again. She could feel her chest rise and fall.

“I guess I’m sort of a part of you now. My blood and my soul, it runs through both of us. I missed you a lot Rainbow. When you were gone, I felt small again, like I was back at flight school, and the bullies were there. But you weren’t. I know you told me to be brave, but I never realized how hard it was to be brave when you’re alone. And the thought of the rest of my life, feeling alone, feeling afraid, it was, well... scary.” She sighed, letting her tears soak into her blue coat. She hoped she wouldn’t mind. Although it wasn’t the first time Rainbow was her shoulder to cry on.

“Do you remember Dashie? Do you remember when we met in the meadow for the first time? Do you remember all the days we spent together, all the hours we spent just being in each other’s company? I remember what you told me about the picture I drew you. It’s funny, all the times I went to your house and saw that picture; I figured you just put it out to be polite. I hardly ever thought anything of it. You told me it helped you sleep, to see me. And now, I can’t imagine going home to an empty bed. To lie down, and not have you there to hold me. You know, all those nights in the woods, sleeping on the ground, I wouldn’t have traded them for any bed, because you were there, and we were together. And all the things we did, the talking, the swimming, all the time we spent together, no matter what, I-I’ll never forget it.”

She wrapped the mare into a full embrace, wanting to feel all of her warmth again. She was so soft. She ran a hoof through her mane

“A week ago I hardly knew what love was, I couldn’t even tell I was feeling it. Now I can’t imagine life without it. You brought light into my life Rainbow Dash, from the first day we met, and it only got brighter as the years went on. And it turned into something beautiful, a relationship the likes of which I never dared hope for. All along you’ve been my world, but I was too blind to see it. And I don’t know what I did to deserve you, because I don’t think I do. Everything about you is just so wonderful and amazing, and I don’t know why you would bother with a pony like me. But, if you’re in there, if you can hear me, I love you so much Rainbow.” She cried silently, her head still buried between Dash’s head and shoulder, feeling her multicoloured mane tickle her face.

“You deserve way more than me Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy’s ears shot up at the sound of the familiar raspy voice. She lifted her head. Rainbow Dash looked at her, her beautiful eyes open, and a bright smile on her face. A tear was rolling down her blue cheek.

“You brought that light to me just as much as I brought it to you, and only you could understand how much I love you for it. And if there’s one thing I will never forget, as long as I live, it’s the filly who changed my life so much. The filly I love.”

Fluttershy couldn’t move, her mouth hung open, her heart felt like it would explode. So Rainbow made the move, pressing her soft, warm lips onto hers. At the familiar and all too missed connection, she snapped out of her trance and returned it with glee. She gave it all of her passion, all of her love. The salty taste of her tears did nothing to dilute the sweet taste of Rainbows lips. The pony she cared for most was with her again, and she could finally feel those beautiful lips against hers. It was her kiss that first woke Fluttershy, introduced her to a world more wonderful than she ever could imagine. It was her kiss that carried her through all their painful trials, comforted her when she was at her worst. It was the memory of her kiss that grieved her so. And it was her kiss now that sparked a new beginning, a new life for both of them. A life they would live together. It was the second best kiss she’d ever had.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the delay guys, but I hope it was worth it. I know it sounded pretty final, but we're not done quite yet so just hang in there. In the mean time, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks again for reading guy's, over 500 views! You're so awesome, and I can't thank you enough!